王青
【New words and expressions】生詞和短語（9）
parliament n. 議會(huì)，國會(huì)
erect v. 建起
accurate adj. 準(zhǔn)確的
official n. 官員，行政人員
Greenwich n. 格林尼治
observatory n. 天文臺(tái)
check v. 檢查
microphone n. 擴(kuò)音器，麥克風(fēng)
tower n. 塔
【Text】
When you visit London, one of the first things you will see is Big Ben, the famous clock which can be heard
all over the world on the B.B.C. If the Houses of Parliament had not been burned down in 1834, the great clock
would never have been erected. Big Ben takes its name from Sir Benjamin Hall who was responsible for the
making of the clock when the new Houses of Parliament were being built. It is not only of immense size, but is
extremely accurate as well. Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day. On the
B.B.C. you can hear the clock when it is actually striking because microphones are connected to the clock tower.
Big Ben has rarely gone wrong. Once, however, it failed to give the correct time. A painter who had been working
on the tower hung a pot of paint on one of the hands and slowed it down!
參考譯文
當(dāng)你游覽倫敦時(shí)，首先看到的東西之一就是“大本”鐘，即那座從英國廣播公司的廣播中全世界都可
以聽到它的聲音的著名大鐘。如果不是國會(huì)大廈在1834 年被焚毀的話，這座大鐘永遠(yuǎn)也不會(huì)建造�！按蟊尽�
鐘得名于本杰明.霍爾爵士，因?yàn)楫?dāng)建造新的國會(huì)大廈時(shí)，他負(fù)責(zé)建造大鐘。此鐘不僅外型巨大，而且走時(shí)
也非常準(zhǔn)確。格林尼治天文臺(tái)的官員們每天_____兩次派人矯正此鐘。當(dāng)大鐘打點(diǎn)的時(shí)候，你可以從英國廣播公
司的廣播中聽到，因?yàn)殓娝辖恿他溈孙L(fēng)�！按蟊尽辩姾芏喑霾铄e(cuò)。然而有一次，它卻把時(shí)間報(bào)錯(cuò)。在鐘
塔上干活的一位油漆工把一只油漆桶掛在了一根指針上，把鐘弄慢了！
【課文講解】
1、When you visit London, one of the first things you will see is Big Ben, the famous clock which can be
heard all over the world on the B.B.C.
the B.B.C. =British Broadcasting Corporation 英國廣播公司
2、If the Houses of Parliament had not been burned down in 1834, the great clock would never have been
erected.
the Houses of Parliament 國會(huì)大廈（英國議會(huì)是由上議院（House of Lords）和下議院（House of
Commons）組成）
burn down （使）燒成平地，燒毀
367
新概念英語第二冊筆記
The hospital was burned down last month.
3、Big Ben takes its name from Sir Benjamin Hall who was responsible for the making of the clock when the
new Houses of Parliament were being built.
take one’s name from 以……命名
Sir用于英國人的全名（或名字）之前時(shí)表示“爵士”（不單獨(dú)用于姓之前），如Sir John Gilbert（約翰.
吉爾伯特爵士）或Sir John（約翰爵士），但不能稱為Sir Gilbert。
be responsible for 對……需負(fù)責(zé)任/承擔(dān)責(zé)任的
Who is responsible for the accident?
John is responsible for the building of the bridge.
-ing形式前面無冠詞時(shí)可直接跟賓語：making the clock；-ing前有冠詞時(shí)則其后不能直接跟賓語，而必
須用of：the making of the clock。
4、It is not only of immense size, but is extremely accurate as well.
be of… 表示人或物的特征
We are of the same age/size.
This letter is of great importance.
5、Big Ben has rarely gone wrong.
go wrong （機(jī)器等）發(fā)生故障，出毛病
My watch/the engine of the car has gone wrong.
Something has gone wrong with my car.
6、A painter who had been working on the tower hung a pot of paint on one of the hands and slowed it down!
slow down （使……）慢下來/減速（可分開使用）
He slowed his car down while driving in heavy traffic.
【Letter Writing】
常見開頭語：
I wonder how you learnt that…
You will never guess who/what…
【Special Difficulties】
Official, Employee and Shop assistant
official n. 官員，公務(wù)員，高級官員
Bank officials get high salaries.
Before he retired, Jeremy had been a government/city official.
employee n. 雇員，雇工（包括各個(gè)層次的）
Later he became a government employee.
shop assistant 零售店的店員（美語中用salesclerk）
The shop assistant who served her did not like the way she was dressed.
368
新概念英語第二冊筆記
Hang/Hung and Hang/Hanged
hang（hung，hung） vt. 懸掛
I’m hanging this picture on the wall.
hang（hanged，hanged） vt. 絞死，吊死，上吊
As he has murdered three men, he ought to be hanged.
I wonder why she hanged herself.